- There are a few science & literature festivals which feature talks about climate related affairs. I have a list I have collected and will post here. - Questions are important, cos due to grant bias speakers might be reluctant to leave the consensus meme, but are often willing to answer questions honestly (well the scientists not the activists). So I find it is good to have pen and paper so you can write your CLEAR question. All too often people who try to ask a question off the cuff end up rambling and no one listens.

(maybe best to keep this thread for listing the events and open separate thread if you wish to discuss an event)

Ilkley Literature Festival - Can We Still Trust the BBC? Robin Aitken (his 2007 book) Thu 10 Oct 7.30pm Ilkley Playhouse - Aitken, who spent 25 years as a BBC journalist, has gathered evidence to claim that the broadcaster's news and current affairs departments are run and staffed predominantly by liberal lefties. The result, he says, is an output biased in favour of Europe, immigration, abortion and public spending, and - wait for it - is anti-American, anti-Israel and pro-Republican in Northern Ireland.

The scandals that rocked the BBC impacted on all aspects of the corporation. In the light of revelations about Jimmy Savile, Robin Aitken, a BBC reporter and executive for 25 years, asks what trust we can have in our national broadcaster. He paints a vivid picture of life inside the news machine and Light Entertainment department, arguing the scandals are rooted in long-standing lapses and shortcomings. £8/6.

- ACTIVIST George Monbiot: FeralThu 17 Oct 7.30pm Craiglands Hotel "Making use of remarkable scientific discoveries, he lays out a new, positive environmentalism, where nature is allowed to find its own way, showing how rewilding could repair the living planet. £8/6."

- ACTIVIST Exploring Climate Change: Mike Hulme Fri 18 Oct 7.30pm Ilkley Playhouse Exploring Climate Change: Mike Hulme Science at the Cutting Edge 174. Ilkley Playhouse Wharfeside 7.30–8.30pm Mike Hulme, Professor of Climate Change at University of East Anglia, has studied the subject for over 25 years, advising numerous NGOs, government bodies and private companies. Tonight he lays bare the relationship between climate change, science, policy, controversy, religion, ethics and the imagination, identifying how climate change has altered the world in the last quarter century. £6/4.

Monday 14th October. (activist ?)Talk by Sir Graham Watson MEP. This will include his work as chair of UK charity Climate Parliament. Organised by Climate Friendly Bradford on Avon. Details tbc. Climate Parliament: "The UN's consensus negotiating method is limited, as it can be blocked by any major nation or small group of nations. While diplomats and governments continue to negotiate, the Climate Parliament Council believes that legislators should also pursue a parallel track: to build our way out of the climate problem. We have all the technologies we need to enable a rapid transition to renewable energy. We also have the knowledge that we need to preserve the rainforests. What we need now is new legislation and financial incentives to get the appropriate technologies and systems deployed. The Climate Parliament is creating a strategy for Clean Power for All (or see this 2-page summary). This is a strategy for global political action to help save the planet. It is a strategy that would result in a faster transition away from fossil fuels to the use of renewable resources in energy production. It is a strategy in which no nation is able to block international progress. This strategy calls on those state and national legislators who are genuinely concerned about climate change, energy security or peak oil to work together to take effective worldwide action. Legislators have the power to solve the climate problem by passing legislation in their home parliaments. They can also influence policy by speaking with presidents, prime ministers and state governors. The Climate Parliament has been created to help to help the world’s Members of Parliament and Congress to take action now." I might pop along to see what all this is about. Advance notice received from Wiltshire Council's ECO team in their Community Environment News. Good to see our Council Tax wasted.

Thursday 12th September: Eco friendly - Manor Park Halls of Residence Guildford, SurreyFind out how you can save energy in your home by viewing local eco-friendly properties. This is a great opportunity to ask owners about the energy saving measures they have installed, how it has affected the comfort of their properties and fuel bills. Low energy technologies featured include: solar thermal hot water panels; solar photovoltaic (electricity generating) panels; air source heat pump; combined heat and power unit; Heat Recovery system

There maybe an Anti-fracking Event soon at St Austell .. someone has planning permissionfrom paragragh 2.2 " ..Drilling these deep wells will be carried out by a large land-based drilling rig (circa 1500 – 2000 HP model) using conventional oilfield-based technology. The practicalities of drilling these deep wells means that the drilling and associated operations have to be undertaken 24 hours per day, 7 days per week (see figure 1)."

2.3 "...The creation of the underground reservoir will involve injecting a large volume of water (up to 30,000 m3) at relatively high flow rates (up to 100 l/s) into the openhole section of the well to open natural fractures within the granite..."

MON 9 SEPT, 12.30 - 13.30 ENGINEERING THE CLIMATE Discover some of the viable technologies for controlling the climate – known as geoengineering. These include Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) by sequestering CO2 and Solar Radiation Management (SRM) by putting particles into the stratosphere. Venue: Spence Watson Lecture Theatre, Armstrong Building, Newcastle University Organised by: University of Cambridge ALL ADULTS FREE: BOOKING REQUIRED

MON 9 SEPT MON 9 SEPT, 14.00 - 15.00 CORAL REEFS AND THE GRIM REAPER Coral reefs harbour hundreds of micro-organisms in their tissues and on their surface, including many species of bacteria, viruses, fungi and ciliates. Join marine biologist Michael Sweet to explore ways of identifying the good, the bad and the ugly. Venue: Stage 2, Northern Stage Organised by: British Science Association AGE 14+ FREE: BOOKING REQUIRED

MON 9 SEPT, 15.30 - 17.30 FUKUSHIMA TWO YEARS ON: THE REAL STORY The incident at Fukushima following the tsunami of March 2011 left behind it a trail of confusion and misinformation. Two years on, we now have the benefit of hindsight to evaluate exactly what happened and bring to you the real story of Fukushima. Venue: Fine Art Lecture Theatre, Fine Art Building, Newcastle University Organised by: Physics and Astronomy Section, British Science Association

WED 11 SEPT, 15.30 - 17.00 A BRILLIANT FUTURE: HOW SUNLIGHT WILL WAVE GOODBYE TO OUR FOSSILISED PAST The modern world runs on sunlight stored in fossil fuels but resource and climate issues demand an alternative. This interactive talk explores how brass and brimstone can produce electricity from light waves in sunlight. Venue: Lecture Theatre 1, Bedson Building, Newcastle University Organised by: Northumbria University ALL ADULTS FREE: BOOKING REQUIRED

THURS 12 SEPT, 10.30 - 11.30 CLIMATE CHANGE: DOES IT ALL ADD UP? The climate debate relies on models with complex formulae, solved on computers. How reliable are these models and what is the science behind them? In this event climate scientists discuss the models and invite you to debate with them. Venue: Spence Watson Lecture Theatre, Armstrong Building, Newcastle University Organised by: Mathmatical Sciences Section, British Science Association; CliMathNet, IMA Supported by: EPSRC ALL ADULTS FREE: BOOKING REQUIRED

THURS 12 SEPT, 12.30 - 14.30 DIALOGUE LIVE! PRESENTS EXTREME WEATHER The weather has taken many areas of the UK by surprise – the North East knows only too well what devastating impact weather can cause. Join us for a handson live dialogue, the results will feed into a current government public dialogue project. Venue: Space 4 and 5, Culture Lab, Newcastle University Organised by: Sciencewise ALL ADULTS FREE: BOOKING REQUIRED

THURS 12 SEPT, 16.00 - 17.00 BRITISH SCIENCE ASSOCIATION PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: LISA JARDINE Lisa Jardine explores issues around the future of science communication, asking what its function is in society. What lessons can we learn from the past and how can we position science at the heart of a democratic society? Venue: The Civic Hall, Newcastle Civic Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne Organised by: British Science Association ALL ADULTS FREE: BOOKING REQUIRED NOTE she's a historian "scientist" so thinks skeptics are confused (see Radio4 Fourthought prog)

MON 9 SEPT, 18.00 - 19.00 COAL, STEAM, SLAVERY AND THE GREENING OF THE PLANET: FOSSIL FUELS 1713-2013 It’s exactly 300 years since steam engines started pumping water from mines on Tyneside. On this anniversary, join scientist and popular author Matt Ridley to remember to celebrate the good things fossil fuels have done, as well as bemoaning the bad. Venue: The Literary and Philosophical Society Organised by: The Literary and Philosophical Society ALL ADULTS £6.00

Manchester Science Festival Thursday, 24 October, 2013 (All day) to Sunday, 3 November, 2013 (All day) All across Manchester Manchester Science Festival is an annual nine-day, multi-venue festival that engages and inspires people with science, building their confidence in exploring and questioning science in the most creative ways possible.

BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival 2013 - 25th – 27th October 2013 Radio 3’s Free Thinking Festival of Ideas, returns to Sage Gateshead from for a weekend of provocative debate, new ideas, music and drama. London (Program not yet out)

5 September Energy DayBBC Radio 5 Live- They plan to operate only on renewables that day"Renewable energy will power BBC’s live news and sport radio station 5Live on Energy Day on 5 September in Manchester, England, to highlight concerns over how the UK will meet binding climate targets in the coming years. "

- they think their entire operation is 2 amps ? "5Live has contingency plans in place, just in case the renewable energy sources fail to deliver the estimated 2 amps of power the station needs to remain operational." ... I bet they mean KiloAmps 2000Amps. I don't think they really power the entire IT system lighting aircon, kettle, fridge, phone system off 2 plugs. Perhaps they mean just the actual studio not what is just the other side of the glass. (2 amps X 240volts = 480Watts .. 1 kettle is 1200W)Their transmitter network probably run into millions of watts of consumption e.g. At the historic (1929) Brookmans Park site there's one London transmitter "This site is now operated by Arquiva for the BBC (BBC Radio 5, 909 kHz in the London area) " transmitter output 50Kw new tech has 90% efficiency so that's about 56Kw consumption. 23 transmitters using upto 225KW each

- 5 Live are not very good at doing any research so I expect they'll spend all day just reading off press releases from Activists and the Renewable Subsidy Solar PV Wind mafia. So it would be good if someone gets them to air some skeptics and real engineers that day, who don't have a financial stake.

Hosted by Nicky Campbell, the Energy Secretary Ed Davey MP will be answering questions from callers and the audience as we explore a topic that polarises opinion.

In addition, you can see how 5 live has accepted the challenge of keeping a studio on air, powered exclusively by renewable energy for 12 hours from 7am to 7pm.

Minimum age: 16Maximum tickets per request: 4 Media City

Activity on the piazza throughout the day will include; a human hamster wheel, see saws and exercise bikes all generating kinetic energy, chip fat being harnessed from the BBC canteen to create biofuel and a mini energy grid which is being built on the piazza especially for the day. Members of the public are welcome to come down to the piazza at Media City to see and observe all the day’s activities.

I note some churnalists are writing the shows and talk will be "clean power" , they need to know that wind and solar PV power are not clean ! What about manufacture and end of life disposal ?.. lots of dirty holes in China for the magnet metals etc.

Full rundown for the day click that link to BBC- Taking place on Thursday 5 September, Energy Day sees BBC Radio 5 live creating a platform for the national energy debate to be discussed in a new and innovative way

"By 2020 a quarter of the UK’s power supply will be shut down, with power stations either closing or coming to the end of their natural life. The Government are currently looking at solutions to fill this energy gap, as without a coherent plan Britain will see blackouts happening more frequently and for longer periods. Radio 5 live are focusing a day of programming to look at options to fill this gap, while also continuing to deliver all the day’s news and general programming.

For a full 12 hours, a BBC Radio 5 live studio will be powered by renewable energy (solar, wind, kinetic, biofuel) and a full day of programming will be dedicated to the energy debate."

Interactive energy harnessing taking place on the MediaCity piazza – including chip fat from the BBC canteen, wind turbines and kinetic energy from a human hamster wheel."

- 7am ‘switch on’ in 5 live Breakfast with Nicky Campbell and Rachel Burden. Breakfast welcomes Ed Davey MP and Caroline Flint MP - Ed Davey MP will also take questions and hear opinions from a live audience within the outside studio

- 2pm Richard Bacon (Fully Brainwashed) show will be powered by the pedal as exercise bikes are set up in the piazza for guests such as Olympic cyclist, Chris Boardman, members of the public, and Richard himself to ‘hop-on’.

- 4pm, Peter Allen and Anna Foster present 5 live Drive which will take an in depth look at the news and politics around the energy debate including the ongoing issues around nuclear power and fracking. UNLESS THERE IS NEWS ABOUT SOME CELEBRITY

- 6pm -7pm round off the day with a live panel debate taking place in the last hour of Drive with UK’s energy experts. WHO ? ACTIVISTS ?

move on from the 5 Live shindig to "Question the expert warmists event"6-8pm 5th Sept also in Manchester, Renold building, University of ManchesterTitle: Meeting the climate change: Is a low carbon energy future possible?Date: 5 September 2012 2013

Attend The British Energy Challenge free exhibition and find out about energy generation, renewable technologies, climate change and how you can save energy and cut costs.Visit the stands of local and national organisations with interactive demonstrations, career opportunity advice and energy saving tips. Check out an electric car, visit the Met Office TV studio, see a working model of a marine current turbine and step inside a zero-carbon house! See below for full list of exhibitors confirmed for Manchester.

- The Register page .. lists all the gov dept's & subsidy grabbers attending- No doubt some PR agency has come up with the brainwashing FRAMING; a false dichotomy : "Should we do more to cut demand or rely more on increasing and decarbonising the energy supply"..so waiting for validated evidence & keeping the status quo OR waiting for fusion OR mitiging action like CCS OR geo-engineering are to be kept from thought

Wow, this is quite a compilation ... One of the highlights that I'm sorry I won't get to see (unless there's a video of the event!) is Mike Hulme's presentation at Ilkley (moor bar t'at?!) on Fri. Oct. 18. This is quite a remarkable billing:

Mike Hulme, Professor of Climate Change at University of East Anglia, has studied the subject for over 25 years, advising numerous NGOs, government bodies and private companies. Tonight he lays bare the relationship between climate change, science, policy, controversy, religion, ethics and the imagination, identifying how climate change has altered the world in the last quarter century. [emphasis added -hro]

Climate change has "altered the world" already??!! OMG, what will all the "save the planet-eers" do now, eh?!

One of the plenary sessions (for the perennially "science communication" perplexed) featured Dan Kahan on stage with Michael Mann - at his misrepresenting best, of course - and the USGRP's Tom Armstrong in a "panel discussion" [with questions from the audience] on "Credibility, Trust, Goodwill, and Persuasion" in climate science communication.

YMMV, but I cannot think of two more unlikely candidates to be proffering their "expertise" on this subject than Kahan and Mann (particularly the latter!) Those who wish to subject themselves to repeated (unchallenged) assaults on truth, logic and reason may do so by following this link to the livestream video of the event.

BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival 2013The programme is out. This year’s festival theme is “Who’s In Control?”, but there is NOTHING ABOUT ENVIRONMENT. in the 20 talks Sage Gateshead on 25, 26 and 27 October for a weekend of provocative debate, new ideas, music and performance.

- only 1 talk has a vague connectionControlling the CountrysideSunday 27th October, 2013. 3.45pm - 4.45pm.Do our decision makers understand the countryside? When people talk about preserving the countryside – what are they preserving? Simon Thurley is the Chief Executive of English Heritage

- as listed above there are some climate talks at the Ilkley Literature 4-20 October